BUILDING AN URBAN RANGER PROGRAM

SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION

BY BROOKS O. HUBBARD IV, Los Angeles District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Los Angeles District plays a crucial part in improving public safety, quality of life, and the economy for Los Angeles and beyond. Its team has recently grown to include park rangers working in unique circumstances.

USACE is one of the nation’s leading federal providers of outdoor recreation, with more than 400 lake and river projects in 43 states providing more than 7,700 miles of land and water trail systems. Park rangers protect the nation’s natural recreation facilities and their visitors. They also help preserve natural resources by managing recreational grounds and educating visitors through environmental outreach programs.

The Los Angeles District is unique, because all the recreation components within the district’s numerous flood control projects are leased to and managed by local county or city recreation partners.

Crews install an additional section of augers to the deep-mix method drill rig near Garcia Bend Park in Sacramento’s Pocket Neighborhood June 2, 2020. Some sections of work required a seepage cutoff wall installed up to 130 feet deep, which is too deep for traditional long-stick excavation methods.

“What makes us so unique is we still maintain property under our jurisdiction within many major metropolitan areas,” Los Angeles District park ranger Nick Figueroa explained. “There is no other district that we know of that has this responsibility. We have had to adapt our nationwide program, that focuses heavily on rural settings, to an urban setting.”

The district developed its first Ranger program in fall 2018, staffing six full-time rangers who target four natural resource management areas: recreation management, resource management (environmental stewardship), visitor assistance, and interpretation. Rangers also support the district’s flood risk management mission.

“First, this is a brand-new program that is being implemented within one of the highest-populated areas of the nation,” said Robert Moreno, a senior park ranger with the Los Angeles District. “We are building the program from [the] ground up in an area that has dry basins and leased recreation areas. Our mission is the same as other programs across the nation in that we care about our natural resources and indirectly manage our leased resources.”

Los Angeles District park ranger Annel Montsalvo, left, hands out information to a family participating in Los Angeles County’s Overnight Family Camping and Fishing event Sept. 26, 2020, at Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte, California. Montsalvo and other park rangers used the event as an opportunity to educate members of the public on topics such as water safety, environmental stewardship, and flood preparedness as part of National Public Lands Day.

The Ranger program is managed by the district’s Operations Division. The division is responsible for the operation and maintenance of flood risk management facilities, including 15 dams and 68 miles of levees and channels across Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California. These facilities reduce the risk of flooding for critical infrastructure, transportation corridors, residences, and businesses.

The Ranger program, now a critical component of the Operations Division, provides staff with the opportunity to meet and educate the communities that live and work near these projects.

When Figueroa was asked about the major recreation areas, or USACE-managed ones, and what his team does to supplement the absence of traditional ranger work, he explained that they focus heavily on interpretive and outreach programs, and in strengthening partnerships with numerous municipalities and civic organizations in the surrounding communities.

Volunteer Raisa Parnell, center, picks up trash along the San Gabriel Spillway in the Whittier Narrows Natural Area as part of National Public Lands Day. Honoring National Public Lands Day, USACE’s Los Angeles District partnered with Los Angeles County, the Whittier Narrows Nature Center Associates, and local volunteers who joined forces to clean up and remove trash from the San Gabriel riverbed at the Whittier Narrows Nature Center, Sept. 28.

“Los Angeles is a goldmine for partnerships, and this district will soon lead the charge,” Figueroa added.

On Sept. 26, rangers interacted with families during an overnight fishing event at the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte, California. The event was hosted by Los Angeles County. Rangers participated to commemorate National Public Lands Day, the largest single-day volunteer event aimed at inspiring environmental stewardship of America’s public lands.

This year, federal agencies faced challenges as they sought ways to engage the public and celebrate National Public Lands Day during a pandemic. Event planners ensured the fishing event participants followed COVID-19 safety precautions.

Los Angeles District park ranger Mary Carmona, who regularly attends public outreach events within the district, said education is the prime reason park rangers participate in these types of events.

“It’s our job to educate and inform the public,” Carmona said of herself and her fellow park rangers. “I [have] lived just 2 miles away from Whittier Narrows for many years, so I am very familiar with the community.”

“Parents and children seemed excited to know about who we are, what we do, and how we can assist them,” said Annel Monsalvo, Los Angeles District park ranger. “We provided coloring books; activity books, both in English and in Spanish; and other goodies, such as Frisbees, cups, adhesive phone pouches, and towels.”

The job of a district park ranger is unpredictable. Her or his day may begin patrolling the lush green parks within the San Gabriel Valley and end with code enforcement duties in the arid high-desert Mojave River Dam flood control project, located in San Bernardino County.

This past summer, Figueroa and Carmona traveled to the dam after their office received reports of vandalism and unauthorized off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity at the dam. Figueroa and Carmona advised several OHV operators of their unauthorized access into the basin.

“We were out there communicating with some of the folks recreating within the critical habitat area,” Figueroa said. “Over the years, there have been a lot of folks who have come out with their OHVs or dirt bikes and either have made their own way around the locked gate or have driven over large dirt embankments, which have been placed around the basin to block illegal access to the area.”

Figueroa and Carmona issued parking tickets to vehicles that had illegally gained access to the area and parked adjacent to the dam’s emergency spillway. More than 25 OHV operators were contacted and advised to immediately leave the area.

For more information about the USACE Ranger program, or to find events near you, visit www.spl.usace.army.mil or call a local USACE lake or river project office. For more information about USACE’s recreation opportunities, visit www.CorpsLakes.us.